Another very intriguing nugget shared by ESPN’s Chris Mortensen on Monday Night Countdown is that Cowboys owner Jerry Jones doesn’t plan to part ways with coach Wade Phillips.

Jones, per Mort, cited the economic climate and the looming labor problems as factors for his current inclination to bring Phillips back.

This tells us a couple of things. First, even the richest of the rich folk are feeling the pinch of the recession, given that Jones apparently isn’t inclined to pay Phillips (and offensive coordinator Jason Garrett) a seven-figure buyout, and then to pay a new coach with a big name really big money.

Second, the league and the union could indeed be on a collision course for a work stoppage, and Jones doesn’t want to be paying Bill Cowher or Mike Holmgren $9 million or so per year to coach an empty locker room come 2011.

The big-picture reality, however, is that the team has not yet bottomed out in Jones’ mind, even after that embarrassing loss to close out Texas Stadium.

Or maybe Jones knows that it has, but that as a practical matter there’s nothing he can or will do about it other than keep his head down, and keep pushing forward.